There is a substantial body of research indicating that mass media (e.g., film, video, and television) representations of frightening, violent, ghostly, or horror themes with potentially disturbing content invoke fright responses among viewers of all ages (Scary movies andà , 2000). Recent research conducted at the University of Wisconsin at Madison with younger children and teenagers suggested that the long-term effects of watching horror movies and television programs can linger into adulthood. In this study, a sample of 150 college students reported a media fright reaction from childhood or adolescence while 26 percent indicated continued experiences of residual anxiety.
Other studies, including one by Sparks, Sparks, and Gray (1995), focused on cognitive processors relating to mental imagery in the context of media impact on fright reactions. These researchers explored the potential role of mental imagery for mental effects in two different areas: 1) emotional responses to frightening mass media; and 2) the effects of the media on belief in UFOs. Sparks, Sp arks, and Gray (1995) commented that individual differences in mental imagery are likely to play a role in the experience of lingering fright reactions to mass media. They found that this was indeed the case.
Hoffner (1997) experimented with a sample of fourth and fifth graders who viewed a program that included a threatening scene with a happy resolution. Prior to viewing the program, the subjects heard an audiotaped introduction that either described the happy outcome or did not. Consistent with expectations, children who were provided with prior knowledge of the happy outcome reduced self-reported fear. The children who did not have prior information about the happy outcome had higher levels of self-reported fear.
Sparks, Spirek, and Hodgson (1993) considered enduring fright reactions that linger on long after exposure to a media stimulus. Subje...